Today, PopCap officially announced a bit of news that most Bejeweled Blitz fans will be very excited to hear (those that own Xbox 360s anyway). The news is that the incredibly popular Facebook / iPhone / PC game Bejeweled Blitz will soon be making its way to Xbox Live Arcade (soon being sometime in the first half of the year - an exact release date was not given).

Not only will you be able to take part in the now classic 60-second gameplay formula, but new additions are coming to the game in its transition to the home console. There will be new gameplay modes added, including one allowing for up to 16-players to play in a Party Mode simultaneously. A head-to-head Battle mode will also be available via Xbox Live online play.

As you'd expect, Bejeweled Blitz Live will allow you to track your high-scores on real-time leaderboards, that update as you and your friends earn higher scores. In a new twist, an addition called "Friendscore" will allow you to combine your own score with that of your Xbox Live friends that have also played the game, in order to earn an even better spot on the week's high-score table, and on the all-time high score leaderboards.

There was no mention made of whether or not we'd be able to sync our Facebook accounts to this console version of the game, or if other social networking features will be added (sharing your score to Twitter, for instance). It's likely that if these features were to be added, they would have already been announced, or at least hinted at, but we'll keep our hopes up for just a little longer that we'll see some additional social features added before the game launches. Either way, make sure to have your affairs in order before this one launches later this year - you're likely to become even more addicted now that you can play on a huge-screen, right from the comfort of your couch.

Are you excited for Bejeweled Blitz Live to launch on consoles? Let us know if you plan on purchasing this one in the comments.